Children of the Stars
by goldenbelle75
Summary: A sequel to "A Princess in Blue" and "A Storm Approaches". Everyone is still trying to move on with their lives since Elyon's disappearance. However, Piccolo and Beerus are finding it harder to overcome this sudden loss. What will Elyon's fate look like if they see her again and what part will she play during the Tournament of Power? Romance included. Universal Survival arc.
1. The Year After

**Children of the Stars**

 _A sequel to 'A Princess in Blue' and 'A Storm Approaches'_

 _ **Hi everyone! I have the first chapter done for my new story! I hope you are all excited for this new story to begin. Before we get started, I just want you to know that we will not be seeing Elyon in this story until later. We might see her in flashbacks or dreams, but that's it. She will be back later on, though. For now, we are going to see more interactions with Piccolo, Beerus, and everyone else. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this beginning of this brand new story!**_

 **Chapter 1: The Year After**

Piccolo sat motionless, focusing on the rain around him pouring down from the heavens. He was meditating as he did so often, but this time, he was in a forest…a very special forest. This was the same forest that Piccolo brought Elyon to a long time ago when they first started dating. Why he was there of all places, he had no idea. If he was seeking peace, he wasn't finding it.

It had been a year since Whis told he, Goku, and the others what happened to Elyon. All her secrets were spilled that day. Many of them took the news hard, especially Bulma. But after time had passed, they went from angry and frustrated, to really missing their young friend. He, however, tried hard to remain stoic during that time, but deep down, he was crying inside. The only person on Earth that he loved romantically was gone and it sounded like she was gone for good. Whis couldn't tell them where she went when she disappeared, but the situation didn't sound like it was going to work in her favor.

During that year, Piccolo focused on his training day in and day out. He tried to forget Elyon, but her face, her voice, and her laugh kept coming back into his mind. She had made a permanent mark on his heart that couldn't be erased. Now, here he was again…trying to meditate on the sounds of nature surrounding him and Elyon was invading his mind, again. He lowered himself on the ground and took off his weighted clothes. He began punching and kicking the air, pretending he was fighting an opponent.

Then, his mind began to stray again. He began imagining his training with Elyon. He remembered how skillful she was at dodging his attacks and mindful of when to be offensive. _Come on Piccolo, keep trying! You're doing great, keep it up!_ Her voice clouded his mind…her encouragement that made him want to keep going.

Piccolo stopped. He could almost see her through the sheets of rain that were coming down. He could see her taking her defensive stance and get ready to face him. Then, he saw her straighten up and began dancing. She was dancing for him, just like when they had dinner at the diner. _Come on, Piccolo! Get up and dance! I'm sure you would like it if you tried._ Piccolo's heart began pumping hard and he could feel his chest tighten. The image of Elyon dancing changed to her rolling on the floor, laughing with baby Pan. He could see her smile at the baby as she lifted her up and twirl her in the air.

Piccolo reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn piece of paper. It was a picture in fact…a picture from Gohan and Videl's wedding. It was the picture Gohan had given to Piccolo during Bulma's birthday party. It was also the day that he and Elyon had broken up and Beerus had entered the picture. He looked at the picture of him with his eyes closed and Elyon looking at the camera, smiling brightly in her beautiful light blue dress.

Kami _: Why do you torture yourself, Piccolo?_

Piccolo: _I'm not torturing myself, I just can't help but think about her._

Kami: _It's affecting your training._

Piccolo: _I realize that, Kami. But like I said, I can't help it._

Nail: _Well, she's gone, and there's nothing you can do about it. I suggest finding someone else._

Piccolo: _I can't believe the two of you! Don't you remember when you kept telling me that she was 'the one?' Now, you just want me to forget that she ever existed._

Kami: _No. I'm sorry, Piccolo. We are feeling the same pain as you. We just think you need to move on._

Piccolo: _Easier said than done._

Nail and Kami kept talking to him, but Piccolo only listened to half of what they said, and responded to them even less. He had to agree that his life continued on, even if Elyon wasn't on Earth anymore and that was something he couldn't control. He sighed and put his wet, weighted clothes back on. He took off into the air and headed toward the Lookout, looking forward to a nice rest, if he could.

On another planet far away from Earth was someone else who was having a tough time getting Elyon off his mind. Beerus sat cross-legged on his couch, looking up at the ceiling. "My lord, your food is ready!" said Whis, cheerfully walking over to his master with a plate full of food. Beerus looked at him, not too excited about eating this time. He held the plate and looked at the food. It smelled divine, but he didn't have much of an appetite. Whis sighed deeply. "Okay, Lord Beerus, you are refusing to eat again. I don't know how much more I can put up with this."

Beerus glared up at his servent as he handed the plate back over to him. "You just don't understand how I feel, Whis. I feel like my heart has been torn apart and scattered across the universe."

"You and she didn't have a relationship, my lord. She couldn't stand you, so why are you taking her disappearance so hard?"

"Like I said, you don't understand how I feel. I loved her, Whis."

"Oh, I see…you loved her…just like the Namek loved her." Beerus didn't say anything. He just got up and walked out of the room.

"I'm taking a bath, Whis."

As Beerus sat in the steaming bath, he thought about the first time he met Elyon. From the moment he laid eyes on her, he knew she was unlike anyone he had met before. He smiled slightly, remembering when she dropped those chopsticks when she saw him. _If only she was that flustered every time she was around me_ , he thought. The steam from the bath rose up and made his face warm. As he thought about the time she kissed his cheek, he blushed, making his face even warmer. Every glare, every gasp, every eye roll she did, made his heart leap. Now, he thought back to the last look she ever gave him…a look of fear and helplessness. _I can't leave them…I can't leave them…_ He played her final words to them over and over in his mind. No matter how annoyed she got at him, she still cared about him…that moment proved it.

 _Lady Ellie, if you can hear me, I want you to know that I still haven't forgotten about you. I want you to know that my heart will always belong to you and that no matter what, I will always love you. If we ever see each other again, I want to prove it to you. I want to prove to you that I can be the perfect one for you. I'll treat you like the princess that you are. I'm not giving up on us…I promise._ He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He could almost smell her perfume and shampoo that she always wore. His heart was beating hard and his body relaxed.

 _Well, that didn't last long,_ thought Beerus. His body was tense all over again, but this time, he wasn't at home. He was standing in the presence of the Great Priest on the Sacred World of the Kais. His idiot acquaintance Goku was itching for the Multi-Universe Martial Arts Tournament to begin soon and he was bugging Zeno to know when it was going to be. Now, the Great Priest was telling him, Goku, and the Kais when it was going to begin, but first, Zeno wanted to have an exhibition match between them and Universe 9 to introduce the martial arts tournament to Lord Zeno's friend, the Future Zeno. Here was the catch to the Tournament of Power, however. If a universe lost during the tournament, it would be completely erased by Zeno himself! Hearing this news was putting Beerus on edge.

Once again, his thoughts strayed to Elyon. _What about Universe 1? I'm sure they will fight, but I wonder if any of their fighters will be Fantasians?_ Perhaps, during the Tournament, he would see Elyon again. If he was going to be erased from existence, he wanted to see Elyon one more time before he left. He shook his mind from those thoughts and told Goku he needed to find two more fighters for the Zen Exhibition Match in less than an hour or else he was in deep trouble.

Piccolo hovered over the town where Elyon used to live. He saw her school that she used to work at…the diner that he and her ate at together…and of course, her old home. He lowered himself closer to the house. It seemed more different now that someone else was living there. He rose up again when he saw someone exit from the house. It was a young man. He was walking toward his car that was parked out by the sidewalk. Piccolo didn't like the fact that a stranger was now living in Elyon's house. He remembered a lot of memories from that house.

He remembered spending the night on her couch once in a while…her singing in the shower…having a glass of wine while watching TV on rare occasions…watching the snow fall outside. He sighed. The man got into his car and drove off. Normally, Piccolo wouldn't be nosy or try to get into anyone else's business, but he had to go into the house. He wanted to see if he could feel the last bit of Elyon's presence inside. He landed in the front yard and walked toward the door. He grabbed the door knob and turned it. Surprisingly, it opened. Piccolo smirked, _The idiot didn't even lock his door._ He walked into the living room.

Instantly, he could tell a difference between Elyon living here and this new man living here. The first thing he recognized was the smell. It smelled…dirty. He noticed that the kitchen had dirty dishes piling up and there were clothes scattered around the living room. It also smelled like sweat and cheap cologne. He looked around, disgusted. When Elyon was living there, she kept her house so neat and clean, it made him sad that someone could make it look so horrendous, now.

He went down the hall to the bedroom. Of course, when he walked in, he saw a pile of clothes in the corner and the bed was a complete mess. He shook his head and walked out. He glanced over at the laundry room. He could tell it wasn't being used as much because it looked a lot neater than the other rooms. He walked in and looked around. The washer and dryer seemed dusty. _Has he even used these appliances yet?_ He looked up at the shelf above the washer where Elyon's detergent and fabric softener still sat. Piccolo's brows furrowed when he noticed something propped up on the shelf. It looked like a notebook. He grabbed it and opened it.

Inside the notebook was a bunch of drawings. He smiled as he noticed that many of the drawings were of him, sitting, standing, and taking fighting stances. He also noticed that many of drawings were of him smiling. As he flipped through the pages, he started seeing some pictures of people he didn't recognize. One picture that caught his eye was a drawing of a group of people. _Could this be Ellie's family?_ There were three men in the picture and two women. They all looked young and they all had delicate pointed ears. One man had long, black hair and the other two men had no color to their hair. Then, one of the women had long, colorless hair but she had a star sitting on her forehead. The last person he saw was of a young woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze. _That must be Ellie's true form._

He continued through the book and noticed more pictures of her with her family. Then, the last picture that he saw was one that made him frown. It was a picture of Elyon and it looked like she was lying on the ground. Next to her was another person that didn't look like her brothers' pictures. His hair was shaded in grey and his clothes were grey too. He also had a couple of moths flying around him. _Who is this?_ Both of them were looking up as if they were looking at the sky and they were both smiling. _Perhaps he's an old friend? At least, I hope so. She better not have been lying to me about never being in love with someone else._ He closed the notebook and gripped it tightly. _I better take this with me._

Beerus was lying on the ground underneath a tree, waiting on Goku to return with two more fighters for the Exhibition Match. He had his arms behind his head and he just watched the leaves blow gently in the breeze. His ears twitched when he heard someone approach him.

"How are you doing, Lord Beerus?"

"What do you want, Supreme Kai?" Shin stood beside him, looking down at his counterpart. His face saddened.

"I know…I miss her, too." Beerus looked up and scowled.

"Don't tell me you had feeling for her, too?"

Shin looked taken aback. "Well, if you mean romantic feelings, then no. But she had a very sweet and caring spirit that made her appealing to be around. That's what I miss the most." Beerus huffed and looked back up at the branches of the tree.

"Well, if you don't mind, I would like to be alone before this Exhibition Match." Shin nodded and walked away. Beerus sighed deeply. He closed his eyes as he listened to the sound of the leaves rustling above him. Suddenly, he heard someone giggling. His eyes opened, and he stared up at the branches above him. He sat up, wondering if he was hearing things. Then, he heard it again…the sound of a female giggling. He stood up and stared at the tree. He walked around it, but didn't see anyone. _I must be losing my mind._ Then, he heard the giggling again. It was louder than before. He turned around and his eyes widened. "Ellie!" he said when he saw his love in the distance.

He ran toward her and she had a big smile on her face. She held her arms out and Beerus embraced her tightly. "I never thought I would see you again," he said. Elyon squeezed him tight.

"I'm safe, Beerus. You don't need to worry anymore." They looked at each other and Elyon smiled brightly at him. Beerus blushed furiously as he gazed at her sparkling blue eyes.

He gulped and struggled to speak. "I have something to tell you, my lady." He held her hand gently. "I have been going about our relationship all wrong. Right now, at this moment, I want to show you how much of a gentleman I can be." He bowed his head and kissed the top of her hand. "I love you, Lady Ellie. And I'm hoping that, one day, you could love me back." Elyon's face softened.

"Oh, Beerus," she said, quietly. She touched his cheek. Suddenly, Beerus could hear music surrounding him. He looked up, wondering where it was coming from. Then, descending from the sky were hundreds of couples, dancing in beautiful, royal clothes. They were all young and their ears were delicately pointed. Suddenly, Elyon began leading Beerus in a ballroom dancing. Like the other couples surrounding them, they twirled across the grass. Beerus, being a fighter and not a dancer, was watching the scene with amazement and was just as surprised how light on his feet he was.

As the music captivated his spirit, he saw Elyon lower her head onto his chest as they danced. Beerus cocked his head slightly above Elyon's, closed his eyes, and smiled. He could feel warmth overcome his heart. "I wish we could be like this forever," he said, quietly. Elyon lifted her head and looked at the god.

"Beerus?" she said.

"Yes, my love."

"Beerus," she repeated.

"What is it, my lady?" he asked again.

"Hey, Lord Beerus." This time, her voice had changed. Now, she sounded like Goku! He let go of her and stared at her in utter shock. Then, he felt someone kick him. "Lord Beerus, hey, we're ready to go!"

Beerus sat straight up and looked around. Standing right in front of him was Goku, Gohan, Majin Buu and Mr. Satan. "We are ready to go to Lord Zeno's." Beerus looked around, trying to see if Elyon was still around, but then he realized that she was never there in the first place. He growled and shoved Goku out of the way.

"Alright! Let's get this over with!" He stomped over to stand next to the Supreme Kai and Whis. His attendant looked down at him with a serious look on his face. "What's your problem, Whis?" he asked, angrily.

"Nothing," said the angel, nonchalantly.

"That's what I thought. Well, let's hurry up and go before we are late."

 _ **I know the chapter was a little bit shorter than normal, but they should be longer in the future. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and have a great evening! ~goldenbelle75**_


	2. The Zen Exhibition Match

_**Hi everyone and welcome back! We are now on Chapter 2 of our new story. If you haven't read the first two stories yet, please read those before continuing with this one. Thanks! Enjoy the new chapter!**_

 **Chapter 2: The Zen Exhibition Match**

Once everyone joined hands, Shin teleported them to Lord Zeno's world. Goku and the others looked up at Zeno's temple, gazing at it with awe. Beerus looked to the three fighters that would be competing and said, "Don't say or do anything stupid. If you do, you could be erased on the spot, understand?" They all nodded.

Shin led the way inside the temple. Once again, they passed through the darkened hallway with the glowing floor. However, in the distance, they could see several figures, standing in the walk way. "Ah, inhabitants of Universe 9…it has been a long time," said Shin in a friendly voice. Just like Universe 7, Universe 9 had its own God of Destruction, Supreme Kai, and angel. However, they looked a little more hostile than Beerus and Shin, especially their three competing warriors. The three fighters were wolf-like creatures that each had their own color fur, red, blue, and yellow.

After the awkward introduction was made, they all teleported to the throne room of Lord Zeno. "It looks like all the competitors have gathered here," said the Great Priest to the two Zenos. "Shall we proceed to the fighting arena?"

"Yes!" said the Zenos. At once, everyone dropped through the floor and landed in their own competitor stands. Goku looked around at the vast room. Right across from their stands was the stands for Universe 9.

"Now all gods, gather!" said the Great Priest, extending his arms from his body. Suddenly, 10 platforms descended from the sky and each one contained a God of Destruction, a Supreme Kai, and an angel from that universe. However, the platform where Universe 11 was had a hooded figure standing amongst the gods. Then, descending out of the sky came the two  
Zenos sitting on their thrones on their own platform with their guards standing on either side of them. "The present and future Zenos have arrived," said the Great Priest, proudly.

Beerus gulped. Now that everyone was here, they could begin the Exhibition Match. But then, the Great Priest gestured in front of him. "And to finish off, we have a special guest from the planet Fantasia…his royal majesty, the King of Fantasia!" Suddenly, a platform evaporated out of thin air instead of descending from the sky. On the platform sat an elaborate throne, much more beautiful than the Zenos'. On the throne sat a stately man in silver and cream-colored robes, tunic, pants, and boots. On his head was a menacing crown made of white gold. It poked out from his head as if the crown was made of branches. His eyes were a piercing blue and his golden hair fell down his shoulders and back. Around him stood three hooded soldiers holding spears. Their faces were hidden by the hoods, but they were armored in the chest, arms, and legs by silver and black.

Beerus looked at the man and his soldiers and shuddered. _That's not the same king we saw a year ago…_ He looked over at Shin and he had the same expression of surprise. Then, he looked at Whis, hoping to get a response from him. Whis remained expressionless. In the room the remaining gods responded with gasps and scattered whispers. For many of them, this was the first time they ever saw a Fantasian. Of course, the gods from Universe 1 bowed their heads in reverence to the king, and he responded by smiling and bowing his head back.

Goku, however, responded much differently. Being a curious and reckless man, he decided to go talk to the king. He flew up to the throne and stood before the king. In lightning speed, the soldiers aimed their spears at Goku. "Hey, hey, take it easy!" said Goku, holding up his hands. "I'm only going to ask the king some questions!" The king looked at his guards and shook his head. Instantly, they rose their spears up and took their guard position again. Goku sighed, relieved. "Thank goodness! Okay, first, are you Ellie's father?" The king looked up at Goku, confused. "Oh, you aren't her father, are you?" Then, Goku began to scratch his head. "Beerus said Ellie's father had black hair." Then, an idea popped into his mind. "Oh, I got it! You must be the man Ellie was engaged to! It makes sense that there would be a different king…" Goku was going to keep talking, but Beerus had to act. He flew up to Goku and swatted him back to the Universe 7 platform.

"Idiot!" he yelled down to the Saiyan. "Stay put until it's time to fight!" He glanced back at the king. The king looked at Beerus, seriously, but neither of them said anything. Once Beerus landed back at this spot, the king began chuckling. The laugh made Beerus shiver. _It must be true, what Goku said. If that isn't Ellie's father, then it must be her husband. If I could, I would blast him into a million pieces. I'm going to be sick!_ Goku rubbed his face where Beerus smacked him.

"What was that for? I was just trying to get some answers!"

"Shut up!" shouted Beerus.

The Great Priest looked down on them, waiting for them to be silent. "If you two don't mind, I would like to continue." Both Goku and Beerus shut their mouths, allowing the Great Priest to speak again. "I have gathered all of you here to tell you that we will be holding a tournament for the Lord Zenos, to show the power and strength of each universe. What we are doing now is showing the Future Zeno what a martial arts tournament looks like and that is why we are holding the Zen Exhibition Match between Universe 7 and Universe 9. Now, there will be no time limit and the match will continue until a fighter admits defeat or cannot continue. Also, remember to keep the fights interesting and show off your best moves because anything less than that could result in the Match being cancelled or even worse, the erasure of the fighters." Both Universe 7 and Universe 9 gulped. "Now, would the first fighters please go to ring?"

Roh, the Supreme Kai from Universe 9 grinned, "Okay, you are up first, Basil! Show them what you can do!" Basil, a wolf-like creature with red fur jumped into ring, ready to fight. Goku turned towards Buu.

"Okay Buu, you're going first." He pointed to Basil standing in the ring. "You are going to play with him." Buu looked out at Basil.

"Play? Ha ha! He looks like a puppy dog!"

"Remember, you promised to play with him and then when you are done, I can give you a bunch of chocolate to eat," said Mr. Satan. Buu's face brightened.

"Oh okay! Buu do!" He jumped from the stands and landed on his feet in the ring. Basil chuckled.

"Look at him…he looks like an imbecile," said Basil under his breath. The Great Priest raised his hand.

"Let the first match…begin!" he shouted. Immediately, Basil sent a barrage of kicks that flung Buu back and forth across the stage. As Buu laid on the ground, Basil laughed.

"Just like I thought…you are an idiot!" Roh was also laughing from the stands and looked across at Beerus and the others in the Universe 7 stands.

"These three brothers are some of the strongest in the universe and their name strikes fear into the hearts of those that hear it…Trio De Dangers!" The Elder Kai rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What a stupid name." It didn't take long for Basil to attack Buu again and send him flying once again. However, Buu jumped up and became very happy.

"This is fun! I like playing with you! Now, me turn to play!" Buu flew forward and began firing punches and ki blast toward Basil. He dodged them with no problems, but seemed more surprised at this crazy character's power he was unleashing now.

"C'mon, that's not enough!" shouted Goku from the stands. "Show Buu your real power!" Basil seemed taken aback by the offer, but nonetheless he released a powerful move that ended up putting a hole into Buu's stomach. Even though Buu seemed to be alright, Mr. Satan was hit by one of the blasts. Buu, upset that his good friend had gotten hurt, powered up and went after Basil.

"How dare you hurt Mr. Satan!" yelled Buu as he started pummeling his opponent. After a few seconds, Buu sent Basil hurtling out of the ring, making everyone believe that Buu had won. The Great Priest, however, proclaimed that until a fighter couldn't continue or the Zenos were satisfied, they had to continue fighting. Basil powered up and began a counterattack against Buu. He kicked him over and over in the face and sent horrible ki blasts from his feet, trying to crush the Majin into defeat. It still didn't work. Buu sat up from the rubble around him.

"You strong…but Buu is even stronger!" he yelled and sent a golden ki blast right at Basil. There was an explosion and smoke filled the ring. Once the smoke cleared, everyone could see Basil still standing. He huffed and puffed with a big smile on his face, but then…he crashed to the ground, unconscious.

The Great Priest spoke, "The first match is now concluded…the victor is Majin Buu!"

"Yay! Buu won, Buu won!" he said, pumping his fists in the air. Goku and the others sighed in relief as Buu went up into the stands to rest and to restore Mr. Satan.

"Now, it is time for our second match," said the Great Priest. With a snap of his fingers, the ring came clean and perfect again. Gohan stepped up beside his dad.

"I'll go next," he said.

"Okay, but be careful, Gohan. We don't know the full extent of their powers just yet," said Goku.

"Right." Gohan jumped down into the ring and faced off against his opponent, Lavender. He was also a wolf-like creature, but with golden fur and green pants with suspenders.

The Great Priest raised his arm. "Let the second match begin!" Immediately, both fighters squared off against one another. Lavender grabbed Gohan's arm and blew a purple gas into his face. Gohan stepped back with his eyes sealed shut. Lavender took his chance and began punching Gohan in the torso with his poisoned hands. It looked like Gohan wouldn't be able to stand a chance against this guy, but he reminded himself to sense his opponent's movements and presence. Soon, he began putting up a better fight against Lavender, despite not being able to see. However, Lavender changed his plan. He ascended up into the air and began firing ki blasts down at Gohan. This time, it was much harder for Gohan to sense where he was or where the attacks were coming from.

"I'm not done yet," said Gohan and he powered up to Super Saiyan. Lavender went on the offensive again and shot an energy blast at Gohan, who easily deflected it. Soon, he and Lavender were both trading blows and Gohan was putting up a better fight. Eventually, the build-up of power as a Super Saiyan made the poison spread more quickly in his body and he was almost at the brink of losing the match. As Lavender made one last effort to make Gohan fall, he ultimately let his guard down, allowing Gohan to move in, grab his opponent, and crash him into the ground, along with himself.

The Great Priest looked at both fighters laying on the ground. "The second match will end in a tie!" he announced. Beerus looked up at the platform where the King of Fantasia sat. The King looked pensive as he stared down at the ring. Beerus glared at him, feeling his blood boil.

"If only looks could kill…" said Whis behind him. Beerus turned away from the King and looked down at the ring instead.

"If only I was that lucky," he said quietly.

"Perhaps you are jumping to conclusions?" asked Whis, nonchalantly.

"I don't think so," said the god defiantly. "I could care less what he thinks of me or the rest of Universe 7. All I want is for him, in some way, to suffer…the way I'm suffering."

"My lord, if you would just open your eyes…"

"Forget it, Whis! Let's focus on the next match. We'll talk about this later." Whis just sighed and shook his head.

"Excuse me, but I wish to make an announcement," said the Great Priest. "The Zenos have been very moved by the displays of fighting presented to us today…especially from universes with the lowest mortal levels. Which leads me into what I want all of you to know…" he opened his arms and raised them upwards, addressing all of the gods. "During the Tournament of Power, if all those fighters in a universe loses, then that entire universe will be erased by Lord Zeno's hand."

There were many gasps and whispers heard around the platforms. "Also," he continued, "not all universes will be able to compete. Universes 1, 5, 8, and 12 will be exempt due to their mortal levels being over 7 and therefore, they will not be erased." Again, Beerus looked up at the King and saw he had no reaction to the news. "This concludes the announcement. Now, shall we commence with the third match?" With another snap of his fingers, the Great Priest returned the stage to normal.

Once Gohan had recovered with the Senzu Bean and returned to the stands, Goku stepped forward to face his opponent, Bergamo. He looked just like his brothers before him, but he was more muscular, had blue fur, and wore a scarlet scarf. Before the fight began, Bergamo sent a plea up to the Zenos. He asked them that if he defeated Goku in this fight, would they withdraw their proclamation of erasing the losing universes during the Tournament of Power? Unexpectedly, they had agreed to do so, leaving Bergamo a chance to talk-up to the other gods about Goku's insolence.

"What say you, King of Fantasia, about what Bergamo is saying?" asked the Great Priest. By this time, he had been very quiet since the beginning of the Exhibition Match.

The King spoke up and said, "It is as you have decided to do. I don't intend to change anything concerning the rules. As for the insolence of Goku…he is only acting the way he is programed to act. That can be good…or bad." Then, the King became silent.

"Well spoken, Your Majesty," said the Great Priest, bowing. Then, he straightened up. "Now, let the third match…begin!" Goku and Bergamo went at each other, hitting, kicking, punching and blocking each attack that came their way. As Goku punched Bergamo in the torso, his opponent began to grow. As each blow made its mark, Bergamo grew and grew. Soon, Bergamo was a giant and Goku form was much smaller in comparison to his opponent. This didn't faze Goku in the slightest. On the contrary, Goku continued hitting Bergamo's blind spots, pushing him back and asking him to increase his power more. In the end, Goku powered up to Super Saiyan Blue and unleashed a powerful Kamehameha right at Bergamo. The blast was so powerful that it decreased Bergamo's power and knocked him out completely.

"The third match is now concluded. The winner is Goku from Universe 7!" shouted the Great Priest. Goku was pleased with himself as emerging the victor, but he wasn't as pleased when he noticed that Bergamo didn't use his full power.

"I'll get you, Universe 7! You will be the first ones to be erased and we will be the ones to survive! You are an enemy of the universes and we are all going to come after you!" yelled Bergamo as Basil and Lavender dragged him out of the ring.

"Well, what do you think, Lord Zeno from the future?" said the Great Priest. "Did you enjoy the Match?"

"Yes, it was super fun!" Then he turned toward the present Zeno. "We are really looking forward to the Tournament of Power!"

"That is good news, indeed," said the Great Priest. Then, he turned towards all the gods. "The Zenos were very pleased with the matches today, so we can conclude that the Zen Exhibition Match was a success! Now, I will briefly tell you the rules to the Tournament of Power." Suddenly, the lights around them went dark and a green image appeared next to the Great Priest. "This is the fighting arena that will be located in the World of Void where the Tournament will be held. The rules are simple…all you have to do is throw your opponent out of bounds. However, no outside weapons will be allowed as well as no killing your opponent. Also, the ability to fly will be nullified. The Tournament will last 100 taks, which is the equivalent to 48 Earth minutes. The Tournament will also be a battle royal, which means all 80 fighters will fight each other at the same time and the team with the most teammates left will win, or if only one fighter remains by the end of the Tournament, then that team the fighter is on will win." Then, the green image disappeared and all the lights around them returned to normal.

Before Goku was able to return to the stands, an unknown figure appeared in the ring opposite him. This figure came from the Universe 11 platform and he was wearing a cloak that covered his body. He ripped it off and revealed his identity as Toppo, the Leader of the Pride Troopers in Universe 11. He challenged Goku to a fight to prove himself against the supposed "enemy" of the universes. Once the Zenos approved of the sudden match, it began. Goku powered up to Super Saiyan as Toppo began glowing red. Toppo released several attacks that represented justice, a title he was proud to represent. He even had grabbed Goku in a tight hold, trying to break every bone in his body.

Goku wasn't finished…he powered up to Super Saiyan Blue and broke through the hold. He and Toppo went after each other, trading blows up in the air. They moved so fast that their bodies and movements were almost invisible and because of the pressure they were giving off caused the ring to break apart around them. Then, Goku powered up another powerful Kamehameha wave and aimed it right at Toppo. When the dust and smoke cleared, Toppo was still standing, but his custom-made Pride Trooper outfit was ruined. They both powered up again to continue the fight, but the Great Priest stopped them. He told the Zenos that if either of them continued fighting, then one of them would end up dead and that wouldn't be good for the Tournament of Power. The Zenos were satisfied with the fighting they saw that day and were ready for the Match to come to an end.

The Great Priest held out his hand and said, "I will begin constructing the fighting arena right now and it should take 10 tiks to get it complete."

"How long is that to us?" asked Goku, confused.

"It should take about 40 hours in Earth's time."

"What? That soon?" said Goku.

"Yes, we shall commence with the fighting during the Tournament of Power. To everyone, gather your best warriors and return to the World of Void in 40 hours." Immediately, all the gods of each universe began to disappear. The only one left was Universe 7 and the King with his guards. As Goku talked to the others in the stands, the King and his guards flew down to them. Everyone turned towards the King, surprised that he would come down to speak to them. The Kais and Whis bowed before the King, but Beerus remained stoic with his arms crossed around his chest.

"I wanted to come and tell you that your fighting today was quite entertaining," said the King, warmly.

"Gee, thanks," said Goku, feeling flattered. Then, the King stood in front of Goku. The Saiyan looked up in amazement at how tall the King was. He was about the same height as Whis or maybe even a little bit taller. "Well, now that the Match is over, I would still like to ask some questions about…" The King raised his hand, silently telling Goku to stop talking.

"I'm afraid I am not going to disclose any personal information to you at this time, but if you are concerned about Elyon, I can tell you that you will see her again at the Tournament."

"Oh, I'm sure we will," scoffed Beerus under his breath. The King ignored Beerus, but continued speaking to Goku.

"Unfortunately, the young lady that you once knew will be gone. Her true identity shall be revealed when the time comes."

"How dare you…" said Beerus, approaching the King with hostility. "How dare you come here and say these things about Lady Ellie! You changed her! You made her into something she is not! How dare you take away the woman that I love!"

"What?" said Gohan, stunned at what Beerus had just said. Beerus stepped back, forgetting that he never revealed to any of them that he loved Elyon, except Whis. "You love her too, Lord Beerus?" Beerus remained silent.

The King looked down at Beerus with furrowed eyebrows. "I have nothing more to say. We will see you all in 40 hours." At that, he disappeared into thin air, along with his guards. The group remained quiet after hearing Beerus' confession.

After a few awkward seconds, Shin piped up, "It's time for us to go, too." With that, they all disappeared and reappeared back on the Sacred World of the Kais. Beerus sighed, feeling mentally exhausted after everything that had happened during the Exhibition Match.

"Now, all we need to do now is to find 10 of the strongest fighters in our universe that will be able to compete in the Tournament," said Whis. "We don't have much time left, so we better get to it." Everyone seemed to agree.

"Well, let's get going to Bulma's," said Beerus.

"Why Bulma's house?" asked Goku.

"To hold a strategy meeting there. Also, I need to eat as much delicious food as I can before this tournament," he added, holding his stomach.

 _ **I hope you liked this chapter. I will be writing one more chapter before the Tournament of Power begins! If you are wondering what happened to Elyon or if you are just wanting to see her again, don't worry! We will see her in Chapter 4! Thanks for reading and have a great day! ~goldenbelle75**_


	3. Preparations and Realizations

_**Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well. Here is a brand-new chapter for you to enjoy. I also hope you like the interaction Piccolo and Gohan will have in this chapter. Happy reading!**_

 **Chapter 3: Preparations and Realizations**

Chi-Chi stood by the entrance to the gravity room as Bulma was exercising on the pregnancy ball. Mai, Shu, and Pilaf were also in there, giving her encouragement as she worked on trying to go into labor. She smiled at her friend, seeing the blissfulness on her face. When the session was finished, Chi-Chi offered her friend a cool wash cloth and took the ball out of the room.

"Thanks, Chi-Chi," said Bulma as she patted her face down with the wash cloth. Chi-Chi merely nodded as they walked down the hallway into the living room and then out to the balcony where everyone was sitting and eating. Bulma pat her stomach lovingly and looked down. Her face became sad all of a sudden.

"What's up, Bulma?" said Chi-Chi quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I was just…thinking."

"Don't worry, you'll go into labor soon," said Chi-Chi reassuringly.

"No, that's not it." She turned back to the door, facing Chi-Chi and trying to be as quiet as possible. "I just wish…Ellie could be here for this." She looked back down at her stomach and held it gingerly.

"Yeah, I know. She would be really excited for you," said Chi-Chi sadly.

"It just sucks! She was one of my dearest friends and we did a lot of things together. I can't believe she would hide so much about herself from me!"

Chi-Chi sighed, "I know, Bulma. I'm still upset about that, too. But look at it this way…she was a princess and a god. She never had to feel obligated to hang out with us at all. Of all the people she met on Earth, she decided to be friends with us. Also, I'm pretty sure she didn't take a lot of pride in hiding such big secrets from us."

"I guess so," said Bulma. "But still, I wish she could be here to see the birth of this little baby. I wonder if we will ever see her again."

"Oh, maybe," said Chi-Chi, giving her friend a smile. Bulma smiled, too.

"I hope so."

While the two women sat in the living room and chatted, Whis appeared in the doorway. "Excuse me," he said as he entered.

"Whis? What are you doing here?" asked Bulma. Whis didn't say anything, but took his staff and turned it toward Bulma's belly. The staff began to glow, and he muttered some words in a foreign language. Suddenly, Bulma's belly became enveloped in a warm blue glow and then, a little bundle appeared in the middle of the air.

"It's…my baby…" said Bulma as she reached out for the little bundle. It rested in her arms comfortably and from the blanket, she could hear a soft cry emerge.

"Oh Bulma, look how cute she is! Congratulations!" said Chi-Chi, staring down at the baby in her friend's arms. She helped Bulma off the chair and led her outside where everyone could get a better look at the newborn baby. Bulma's parents came out and took turns holding her and making funny faces. Goku also took a turn and held her. Soon, the poor baby started crying whenever Mr. Satan and Yamcha held her and Vegeta powered up to Super Saiyan Blue every time he heard her cry.

Goten and Trunks scampered outside to see the new baby too after Gohan went to tell them. While Trunks was holding her, Goten piped up "You should call Ellie and tell her that the baby is here. I'm sure she would love to see her!"

"Yeah, that's a great idea, Goten!" said Trunks, excited. "We haven't seen her in so long, we should invite her over, right mom?" He looked up at his mom with a big grin, but Bulma looked down at the boys, sadly.

Mr. Satan sidled up to Chi-Chi and whispered, "You didn't tell Goten yet?"

Chi-Chi frowned, "No, I never had the heart to tell him. I don't think Bulma could, either." She looked over at Bulma, who was still looking down at the boys with a serious look. Everyone became silent…even Beerus stopped eating to listen what Bulma was going to say.

"Well, boys, you see…Ellie isn't here…"

"I know, she lives far away, Bulma! That's why you need to call her," said Goten, hopeful.

"No, Goten, that's not what Bulma meant," said Chi-Chi. "She means…Ellie isn't here anymore." The boys' smiles faded and were replaced with deep frowns.

"You mean…she's dead?" said Trunks, his eyes filling with tears. Bulma turned away from her son and looked over at Whis and Beerus. Whis looked at the boys, expressionless.

"We don't know what happened to her," he told them. "She disappeared when we were with her and…we don't know if she is still alive or not." Beerus gripped his chopsticks tightly, staring down at the plate of rice in front of him.

"You were with her when she disappeared…?" said Trunks, incredulously. "So, why didn't you do something?!" He began to get angry.

"You guys are supposed to be very strong, so you couldn't help her?!" said Goten, becoming equally angry.

"Don't you think we would if we could?!" yelled Beerus, standing up. "The person that took her away was stronger than you could ever imagine! None of us could have helped her!"

"But who would take her away?" said Goten, meekly.

"Now isn't the time to discuss this," said Whis, defiantly. "We have more important matters to attend to." He looked over at Goku, who nodded slightly. Then, Whis turned toward the baby in Trunks' arms. "You also have another matter to attend to as well," he said, nodding toward the baby. Trunks looked down at his baby sister and then looked at his mother. She smiled sadly and motioned toward Vegeta. Trunks nodded and took his baby sister over to his dad, so he could see her too.

After a few minutes, Goku and Gohan took off into the air to go recruit some of their friends to take part in the Tournament of Power. Goku went off to find Krillin and No. 18 to ask them to join and where to find No. 17, 18's brother, to see if he wanted to compete, too. Gohan took off in the opposite direction to find Piccolo.

It didn't take Gohan very long to find Piccolo. He was in the usual training grounds, which were in the mountains. At times, he would train in the forest, but he only did that when he wanted to truly be alone. As Gohan flew through the mountains, he noticed his mentor sitting on a cliffside and he appeared to be meditating. "Hey, Piccolo," he said, softly. Piccolo opened his eyes and looked up at his former student.

"Hello, Gohan. What brings you here?" said Piccolo in a melancholy voice.

"I have a very important question to ask you. Would you be able to compete in a tournament that will pit you against warriors from other universes?" Piccolo uncrossed his arms and legs and stood up.

"Does this have anything to do with this tournament that Goku was been waiting for that Lord Zeno to have?"

"Yes, that's exactly right. So, what do you say?" Piccolo became silent and looked off in the distance…he was thinking.

"Sure, I think that will be something I would enjoy doing…fighting against other warriors from different universes. It would be a great challenge for me."

"But…I think you need to know the catch before you completely agree. Each universe needs to have 10 warriors to compete and only 8 of the 12 universes will be competing. It's because of mortal levels…I'm not too sure what that means, but if the universe has all of their fighters tossed out of the ring, then that universe will get erased."

"So, the stakes in this fight are very high…" murmured Piccolo. Then, a thought came to his mind. "Did they say which universes were going to be exempt?"

Gohan scratched his head momentarily, trying to recall the numbers. "I think it was "Universes 1, 5, 8, and 12. Yeah, I'm pretty sure those were it." Piccolo slowly nodded his head.

"So that means the Fantasians are not fighting…" he said quietly. Gohan lowered his head and stared at the ground. He was wondering if he should tell Piccolo about the Fantasian king they met at the Zen Exhibition Match. He figured his friend had the right to know, especially if he was going to be at the Tournament of Power. Piccolo needed to be prepared for whatever he was going to see.

"Speaking of the Fantasians…we met one of them during the Exhibition Match," he said. Piccolo turned back to Gohan, his brows furrowed. "We saw and met the King of Fantasia."

"Ellie's father was there?"

"Well, Whis and Beerus said the man we met wasn't her father. Beerus swears it was…someone else." Gohan didn't have the heart to say it might possibly be her new husband. Piccolo suddenly bent down and grabbed something that was propped up against his water canteen. It was a notebook. He began flipping through the pages and landed on one near the end.

"Did he look like this?" said Piccolo, pointing to a drawing of a young man with no color in his hair. Gohan stared at the picture and his eyes widened. The young man Piccolo was pointing at looked exactly like the man they had met during the Match.

"Yes!" exclaimed Gohan. "That is definitely him! But, wait…how do you have drawings of…"

Piccolo closed the notebook instantly and set it back down on the ground. "That man you met was definitely not her father. The man I pointed to was one of Ellie's brothers."

"Brothers? Wait…how do you know Ellie has any brothers?!" Piccolo closed his eyes and sighed.

"I have been keeping Ellie's secret for a long while. She told me everything about herself after Frieza was killed and I was brought back to life. And that notebook," he pointed down to the ground, "are all sketches that Ellie drew herself. The other people in that picture are her real family."

Gohan suddenly blew a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good because everyone was thinking that man was her new husband." Piccolo grunted at that statement. "But, where did you get that notebook from?"

"Ellie left it at her house when she disappeared." Again, Piccolo picked it up off the ground and held it gingerly in his hands, almost as if it would break in an instant in his fingers. He opened it to the back and showed the picture of Elyon and her family. Gohan stared at the picture in awe.

"So, that's what she looks like in her true form? She almost looks the same, except without the pointed ears." He and Piccolo stared at the picture for a while. The Namekian reached over and touched Elyon's image gently. It was Gohan's turn to sigh.

"Piccolo, I have something to tell you. I…I was pretty short with Ellie after you were killed by Frieza. I accused her of causing your death because of her overconfidence in fighting him. And even after you came back, I became jealous whenever she wanted to train with us. But, now I really regret everything I told her, and I want to have the chance to rebuild our friendship, if I get that chance." Piccolo reached over and put a hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Gohan. You had no idea what Ellie's intentions were deep down, and you only reacted like any other person would have. So, don't beat yourself up about this." Piccolo took a deep breath in. "But, now's not the time to dwell on the past. We need to focus on this upcoming tournament and getting stronger to face these new opponents."

Gohan looked up at his mentor with a serious look. "Right."

Piccolo smirked. "So, let's get to our training." For the next several hours, Gohan endured some of the hardest training he had been through in years. Soon, the rain started coming down, making the mountainous terrain around them very ominous and foreboding. Piccolo shook his head and began criticizing Gohan's technique. "You are becoming overeager. If you keep this up, you will not have an assured victory." Piccolo yanked off his turban and threw it toward the ground. Then, he took off the rest of his weighted clothes and threw them. "Okay, this has been enough of a warm-up. Now, let's get down to business and have a serious fight."

"Right," said Gohan as he powered up to a Super Saiyan 2. Piccolo and Gohan began fighting again, but Piccolo disabled him by using his Demon Arm attack, holding his student's arms back and choking his neck.

"When did…you become…so strong?" said Gohan, struggling to speak.

"What do you think I was doing after Ellie's disappearance?" He let go of Gohan and stared him down. "Become a warrior now! Whoever you face in battle, fight with everything that you have. Awaken that power you used against Majin Buu!" Gohan became tense and stared up at Piccolo. Suddenly, he began powering up again, but this time he was taking it to his absolute limit. As his power exploded around him, the clouds above them separated and the bright yellow sun shone down on them.

Piccolo smiled as he hovered before his student, who was now giving off a shimmering white aura.

"This time, I'm not holding anything back," said Gohan.

"Bring it on," smirked the Namek.

It was already dark when Piccolo and Gohan had stopped their training for the day. Gohan ended up finding a sleeping dinosaur and cutting off part of his tail, so he could have something to eat. The dinosaur tail was roasting nicely over the small fire that was built and Gohan poked the wood with a stick as he waited for the tail to cook. "So, Piccolo, I kinda have a personal question to ask you?" Piccolo turned toward the young Saiyan. "After Ellie's disappearance…it's been a year already…I was wondering…do you still…love her?"

Piccolo turned back to the fire. He grabbed a stick and started poking at it too. "Gohan…Ellie was the first woman I ever fell in love with…that's something hard to forget, at least for me. Basically…yes, I do still love her. I've thought about her every single day since she left. My training has become more intense because I can still hear her voice motivating me to become stronger."

Gohan smiled warmly. This was one of those rare moments when Piccolo put down his guard and was complete honest and vulnerable. "So, how are you going to feel when you see her at the Tournament, knowing she isn't the same person as before?"

Piccolo furrowed his brow and stared deeper into the fire. "I don't know. Many things will be different this time. Now, we assume she has her family, her friends, and her home back and how will that change her perception of me, having that influence back in her life? Will she have forgotten me? Will she still remember me? Did she tell anyone about her experience on Earth or is she too embarrassed to talk about it? Will anyone accept the fact that she fell in love with a mortal or will she be brainwashed into believing our love was never real?" Piccolo could feel his voice crack slightly, but he held strong. "I don't know what will happen when we see each other again, Gohan, but for now, my focus is on keeping this universe alive…and training you to become much stronger."

Gohan nodded sadly. He could feel the pain in Piccolo's voice, even though he didn't want to show it. "I'm sorry, Piccolo." Then, he grinned. "Thank you for training me all this time. I hope when the tournament comes, I can make you proud." Piccolo looked up and smirked.

"Well, I don't think you have shown me the extent of your power, so now, the _real_ training will begin." After training a little while longer, Gohan and Piccolo found Goku in a restaurant located in a small village where Tien's martial arts dojo was. In fact, Tien and Master Roshi were also there when Gohan and Piccolo arrived. Gohan asked Goku to fight with him in the mountains close by, to which Goku willingly agreed. The match between father and son was quite beneficial for both of them, and Goku was greatly impressed with how far Gohan had gotten in such a short amount of time.

"Actually, I think I have found the perfect leader for Universe 7 and that's you, Gohan!" said Goku, giving him a thumbs up. Gohan's eyes widen and he bowed his head toward his father. Once the sparring was over, Goku and the others went over to Bulma's house to begin planning a strategy for the Tournament. Unfortunately, Bulma received a phone call from Mr. Satan, stating that Buu had fallen asleep and wouldn't wake up for another two months. Goku even flew to Mr. Satan's house to try to wake Buu up himself, but it was no use…Buu was sleeping too deeply.

Once Goku returned to Capsule Corporation, Beerus went off on a tangent about limiting their search to only the Earth and when he began mentioning Frieza's army, Goku got an idea.

"Frieza! Frieza could be our tenth fighter!" Everyone standing on the porch stared at Goku with their mouths agape.

Krillin, who had arrived while Goku was gone, spoke up first. "You can't be serious, Goku! Besides, he's dead and he's one of our biggest enemies."

"But that doesn't mean he can't compete," said Goku confidently. "He's very strong…we can all agree on that, right?" No one spoke. "And also…if he gets out of line, I can put him back in his place."

Beerus rolled his eyes. "You are requesting something very risky for the survival of our universe."

"But I think it can work…with the right amount of persuasion."

"Whatever you say," said Beerus.

At this very moment, in a universe far, far away from Earth, someone was pacing back and forth across the floor of a big, elaborate ballroom. Beyond the glass windows, darkness enveloped the land and the stars shone down from the sky. Inside the ballroom, two big golden staffs with candlesticks attached to them had brightly lit flames burning from them. In the background, three musicians played a quiet, melodious tune on their stringed instruments. The person who was pacing the floor came to a stop at an old piano at the edge of the room. He grazed his fingers across the gold and ivory keys. He soon began playing a tune with one hand that imitated the tune he was hearing from the other instruments in the room.

He looked up and smiled at the musicians, who in turn, smiled back at him. Suddenly, he heard the large double doors of the ballroom open, and in strolled a person hooded and cloaked. The man at the piano turned and looked at the visitor who entered. The stranger was clothed in all grey except for a beautiful silver brooch attached to her cloak. It was shaped like a feathered wing. The hooded figure stepped farther into the ballroom, but stopped after a few steps. The man left the piano and walked over to the stranger. They were the same exact height and when the man removed the stranger's hood, long raven hair fell onto the figure's shoulders and back. The man smiled when piercing blue eyes looked right into his equally blue eyes.

He put his hands on the person's shoulders and sighed. "Welcome back…...my sister."

 _ **Well…guess who's coming back?! I'm sure you all can figure it out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and check out Chapter 4, which I am currently working on. It's going to be a big deal! I'm hoping I can make it extra long for you. Thanks for reading and have a great evening! ~goldenbelle75**_


	4. Elyon's Return

_**Hi everyone! Well, I don't know how many times I have thought about this chapter and making sure that it would turn out okay, so what you are getting ready to read is what I came up with in the end. I really hope you like it! Just as a side note, when you get ready to read anything that is italic AND has quotation marks, that will mean someone is speaking in a different language (mainly Fantasian). Also, it is only going to**_ _ **briefly**_ _ **talk about what happened to Elyon and the rest of her family in that year, mostly what happened to Elyon, though. The rest of the missing information will be covered later on in the story, or in a separate chapter completely. Enjoy!**_

 **Chapter 4: Elyon's Return**

As the group waited for Goku to return, Piccolo sat next to the doors that led out to the patio where everyone was congregated. He had his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. No one was around. He had allowed himself to go into a deep meditation, but as it always happened, his thoughts would stray to Elyon. Then, from the back of his mind, a single, solitary voice spoke through his thoughts.

Nail: _You aren't going to be in the proper mindset for the Tournament of Power if you can't keep your thoughts together._

Piccolo: _And no one said hearing your voice was making it worse for me, as well?_

Kami: _Hush, Nail. Leave Piccolo alone. Not only is he as prepared as he is going to be for the tournament, he also needs to prepare himself mentally when he reunites with Ellie._

Nail: ( _sighing) It will be nothing but a slap in the face for him. Yeah, he's going to see the love of his life again, but who said he is going to be able to speak to her at all when he gets there? Will she even remember him?_

Kami: _Enough of that, Nail! That isn't the kind of talk Piccolo needs to hear right now! We have to hold onto some kind of hope here._

Nail: _Hope? What hope?_

Kami: _Hope that our universe will survive and hope that Ellie and Piccolo will be together for good this time._

Nail: ( _chuckling drily) Stop living in a fantasy world, Kami. I know you were once the Guardian of Earth, but come on, don't be so naive. Piccolo needs to see the reality of the situation. His survival…our survival…rests on the strength of this universe's team. That's where his focus needs to be, not hoping that his beautiful princess will come back to him and everything will be back to normal. Once she disappeared, everything changed. Nothing will be the same again, Kami._

Kami and Nail continued their back and forth banter with Piccolo remaining strangely quiet. Even more surprisingly, he was listening to their conflict with rapt attention, weighing their opinions on his heart. He saw both sides of the argument, but deep down, he didn't want to give up hope that he and Ellie could be together again. But he also didn't know what could have happened to her during that year. And what about that man dressed in grey? What role was he playing in her life and was he playing an even bigger role during this past year? The uncertainty was the really painful part of the situation.

Eventually, the bickering between the Namekians stopped. Piccolo sighed deeply and opened his eyes. He noticed Gohan walking across from him, toward the entrance to the patio. "How are you doing, Piccolo?"

"I'm feeling…conflicted." Gohan frowned at him.

"Don't ask," said Piccolo. He stood up and put a hand on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan nodded and both walked back out to the patio. After waiting a few more minutes, Whis, Beerus, and Goku arrived back to Capsule Corporation with the Emperor himself, Frieza. Everyone was watching the foursome anxiously. First of all, they still couldn't fully understand why Goku would choose Frieza to fight in the first place, and then, to promise him that they would use the Super Dragon Balls to wish him back to life if they survived and won the Tournament of Power. Why wish back a horrible villain as him? Goku had to be crazy…or possibly…desperate? Yes, Frieza was quite strong but he couldn't be trusted. Vegeta knew that better than anyone else.

Frieza stepped toward the group. Bulma had her mouth covered, worried about seeing this creature again. _It's times like this that I really, really wish Ellie was here. An immortal princess like her would be able to keep Frieza in line._ Vegeta stepped in front of the group. Beerus, Whis and Goku stepped forward as well.

"Well, I see a lot of familiar faces here," said Frieza with a smirk on his face.

Vegeta smirked. "Nice halo, Frieza."

Frieza grimaced at his old enemy. "Well, Vegeta…I'm sure I could arrange for you to have one, too."

Beerus stepped up beside the Emperor. "Remember what I said. If you behave yourself, you won't have to worry about anything. But if you do anything stupid, you're answering to me."

"Yes, of course I understand Lord Beerus," said Frieza shrugging.

Piccolo stepped up beside Vegeta. "For once, just listen to reason and don't try to get into a fight with Frieza. We don't need that right now."

Goku stepped to Frieza too. "Yeah Frieza, just chill out."

Frieza glared at Goku. "I'm not taking orders from you, monkey. I think we already established who's in charge."

Tien spoke up. "Goku, are you sure you want to make _him_ a part of our team? It seems like it's going to be more work than we need."

Goku smiled. "Don't worry…I'll keep him in check."

Tien still seemed troubled. "But it seems like more trouble than it's worth."

Shin stepped up between the two groups. "Calm down, everyone," he said in a calming voice. "Since we have all ten warriors here, we need to stop bickering and discuss our plan of action. Now, the Tournament of Power will have 8 universes competing with 10 warriors in each universe. The fighting will also be in the form of a battle royal, which means all 80 warriors will be fighting each other at one time. At the beginning of the battle, remember to stick together and reserve your stamina. When an enemy attacks you, don't try to fight him or her on your own. Stay in your group and fight together."

"Wait," said Goku. "That doesn't seem fair at all."

"That's right," added Vegeta. "We Saiyans don't fight using numbers to our advantage."

Beerus growled. "I don't care if it's fair or not…our very survival is at stake! Winning is everything in this tournament!"

Gohan stepped up to defend Beerus' statement. "Lord Beerus is right. Teamwork needs to be our ally during this tournament." Beerus nodded proudly.

"So, no foolish behavior from any of you, got it?" Everyone stayed quiet.

"Okay, everyone!" said Whis in an unusually happy voice. "Let's all get in a circle and get ready to go!" Everyone walked toward Whis and formed a giant circle. They all grabbed hands, except for Vegeta, who was standing back, aghast.

"C'mon, Vegeta. What are you waiting for?" said Goku.

"You're telling me I have to get into some kind of circle with Frieza of all people?!" said Vegeta.

"Yes," said Whis, impatiently. "We all have to be in the circle to teleport there." Frieza chuckled and held out his open hand.

"What's wrong, Vegeta? Are you still afraid of me after all these years?"

"What?!" yelled Vegeta, powering up.

"That's enough!" yelled Beerus. He reached over and grabbed Frieza's wrist. He held out his hand to Vegeta. "There, happy now?"

Once everyone was gathered together, Whis called up into the night sky. "Great Priest, Universe 7 has gathered its warriors and we are ready to go." Suddenly, the group began to glow white and hover into the sky as they were transported to the World of Void.

As they disappeared, Bulma whispered, "Good luck…everyone." Once the team arrived on the fighting stage in the World of Void, they quickly realized they weren't the first ones there.

"Huh? What's going on?" said Goku, as he saw pieces of metal and brick hovering around them and filling in holes in the arena. They looked behind them and noticed three figures raising their arms in the air and moving them this way and that.

"Hm? Why are Gods of Destruction building the arena?" murmured Beerus. Suddenly, more and more universes with their warriors began arriving. Then, #18 cried out.

"Hey! Check this out!" She was standing near the edge of the cone shaped stage and peering over it. Everyone looked down and saw nothing but darkness.

"In this tournament, when a warrior gets knocked off the stage, they lose," explained Whis. "Also, if you do get knocked out, flying can't help you get back to the stage."

"Really?" said Goku. "Here, let's see." The Saiyan jumped into the air and tried to fly upward, but he couldn't. "Shoot, you're right," he added sheepishly.

"This area is controlled, so you can't use any abilities like flight, unless you were born with wings," Whis added, gesturing toward some of the Universe 10 fighters that were flapping their wings in the air. "Also, you should feel the same gravity as your home world to make the fighting as natural as possible. Now, with that being said, shall we go to the stands?" Whis, Beerus, and the Kais all hovered into the air and toward the spectator seats that were floating in a semi-circle over the arena.

"Good luck, everyone," said Shin as they floated off. More and more universes began popping up and Goku and Vegeta were able to reunite with Cabba, the Saiyan from Universe 6. They were also introduced to two female Saiyans named Caulifla and Kale. Frieza was even able to meet his own counterpart, Frost. Soon, there was only one universe left to appear and when Universe 11 did arrive, Goku went off to greet them. Toppo, the Leader of the Pride Troopers, wasn't pleased by Goku's reception.

From the stands, the Gods of Destruction from Universes 1, 5, and 8 decided to pick up the pace and quickly put the remaining blocks into place. They flew so quickly past the fighters that they all had to jump out of way. However, Jiren, one of Toppo's men, had read the blocks movments and didn't even attempt to dodge them. This impressed Goku greatly. Once the last block was put into place, the arena was complete.

The Great Priest stood on a platform that was hovering above the stage. "The arean is complete and all of our competitors are here." He began naming off each universe to everyone.

"All these fighters look pretty formidable," said Krillin.

"Don't start losing your nerve," said 18.

"Also, don't forget to gather and work together to defeat these guys," said Gohan to everyone.

"Alright, we get it already," said Vegeta, irritatingly.

Piccolo was looking around. He couldn't spot Elyon anywhere. In fact, he couldn't spot anyone that looked like the people in her picture. _Maybe they aren't coming…_ Suddenly, the Great Priest spoke up again. "Before the Tournament of Power begins, we want to introduce our very special guests that will be joining us. We are very pleased to host the royal family of Fantasia and the members of their Court. So, if everyone will please step back." Every fighter stood back to the edge of the fighting stage. Suddenly, there was a glowing light and one solitary figure appeared. It was the King of Fantasia or, so it appeared. He was dressed in a cream-colored tunic, grey pants, and golden boots. Instead of the tangled crown he wore during the Exhibition Match, he had a silver ringlet resting softly around his forehead.

Then, within seconds, several other Fantasian men appeared. One looked exactly like the King, which confused Beerus at first. This young man was dressed in a silver and dark blue tunic with matching pants and boots. His hair was golden just like the Kings', but it was tied back into a long ponytail. A golden ringlet sat around his forehead. There was another young man with long white hair, a brown fur cloak, a silver tunic, and black pants and boots. Next to him were two young men that appeared to be twins. They had long black hair, silver eyes, matching silver tunics, black pants and boots. Then, standing a little farther away from the King were two men that looked older even though they were still considered young-looking. The first man had long black hair, a silver ringlet on his head, a red cloak, a purple tunic, black pants and matching boots. The second man was the most impressive of them all. His face was stern, but he held a lot of wisdom. He also had long black hair, but his eyes were a piercing blue. He wore glorious white robes with a silver tunic underneath it and matching pants and boots. What took Beerus, Shin, and Elder Kai by surprise was the object he was leaning on…a black cane.

"He looks just like Ellie's father…you know, the one we saw in the Omni-King's palace," whispered Shin to the others.

"But if you look harder, that isn't her father, even though they look very similar," said Whis. "Look at the cane, for instance. The one Ellie's father had a snake head on the top…and that one has a lion head. Also, look at him, the King, and the one next to the King. They all look similar…they must be related."

"But if the royal family and the lords are here, then where is Lady Ellie?" murmured Beerus in a worried tone. Lord Zeno must have been thinking of the same thing, because he chimed in.

"Where is the little princess?" said the present Zeno.

"Yeah, I don't see the little princess," said the future Zeno. The King stepped up and looked up at the Zenos from their thrones. His face was very serious. He suddenly turned around behind him and two new figures appeared. Both were women…and very beautiful women at that. One of them had long flowing blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a white dress with a golden belt. She had white and gold slippers on her feet and instead of a crown or ringlet, she had a star shining softly on her forehead. She had a warm and soft smile on her face. Hanging onto her arm was the second woman, who looked less warm but more distant. It was, in fact, Elyon!

All of Elyon's friends stared at her wide-eyed, including the gods in the stands. Even Whis looked concerned. She certainly didn't look like her happy self, but instead, looked sad. Her blue eyes were piercing, but her face was serious as she looked up at the Zenos. She walked forward with the blonde-haired woman and as she walked, she seemed to have a limp. Piccolo's heart was standing still. _What happened to her? Why does she look like that? Why is she limping?_ When the two ladies were standing next to the King, he spoke up again.

"Our home was attacked by an old enemy from our past and to make this story as short as possible, they attacked us from the "inside", meaning…our father. Our father had been taken over by the Chernabog, the leader of our greatest enemies, the Gogs. The Chernabog was not possessing him because he had evil intentions, but merely for his _potential_ to commit something evil. This could be due to his high levels for strength or leadership power. He was trying to overtake our kingdom and destroy it, but…" He turned toward Elyon and smiled. "We were able to defeat him. Or…she was." He nodded toward her and Elyon gave him a small smile. "Between the three of us, my sister is the strongest."

"Sister?" gasped Beerus quietly.

"Because of that, she had the greatest potential to defeat this horrible enemy, but she suffered greatly for it." Suddenly, the King's voice saddened. "We lost our father to the Chernabog…and when it came out of him, it overtook Elyon. We…thought we were going to lose her too, but…she fought against him as he was taking over her mind, body, and spirit. With everything she could muster, she spit this creature out and attacked him with one blow, making him disintegrate into nothingness." Then, his voice began to crack. "However, the possession of this terrible demon crippled her greatly. She couldn't walk or talk. She could barely see, even. She had to be taken away quickly so she could be healed…somewhere beyond the realms of this physical plain. After a year of healing and learning how to walk and talk again, here she is."

Everyone around them were eerily silent. Elyon's friends were staring at her in rapt attention and awe. Piccolo could feel a heavy weight lift from his shoulders, but his heart ached for her. He wanted to run forward, grab her and hug her tightly. Up in the stands, Beerus was feeling the same way. The King stepped back toward the group of Fantasians around him. "Now that our family is here, I wish to introduce you all to them. I am Perion, the King of Fantasia and the eldest of the Triplets. Elyon is my sister and the middle-born of the Triplets and here is our brother Gaston, the youngest of Triplets," as he gestured toward the young man in blue. Then, he gestured toward the young man with white hair. "This is our cousin Vilmir, who is also the High Captain of the Fantasian Army." He gestured toward the twins. "These men are not blood relatives of ours, but they are like family to us. These two lords are Eldorian and Ellahir." Then, he finally gestured towards the two older Fantasians. "The man in red and purple is our uncle Lindon, one of our father's brothers and this man in silver is our grandfather, Grandin, the High Lord of Fantasia." Then, he smiled toward the woman with blonde hair. "And this woman here is our mother, Ilmare the Maia."

At this, many of the gods and warriors of the universes gasped and bowed their heads towards her. Frieza looked at them, quite pleased with himself. "Well, who would have expected this?" he smirked.

The Great Priest lowered himself down on the platform and faced the Fantasians. "What a spectacular story you have told us, and how brave of you, young one, to face such a terrible enemy as the Chernabog. We are pleased to have you alive and well with us." He bowed down in reverence to them, which also caused the Zenos to do the same.

Elyon, who had kept her head down as Perion spoke, looked up. She turned away from the Great Priest and the Zenos and tracked her gaze toward the Universe 7 fighters. She locked eyes with Piccolo, who stared back her with soft eyes. Suddenly, her piercing gaze softened quite considerably and the sad and sickening look on her face was slowly being replaced by a soft blush on her pale cheeks. She smiled brightly toward him and Piccolo's cheeks blushed slightly. What deepened his blush even more was when Elyon's mother looked toward him and her smile brightened too. _She…knows who I am…she has too._ Ilmare nodded slightly when she heard Piccolo's thought, which made Piccolo lowered his head and eyes to the ground. All of this happened in a split second, so no one caught the attention that Piccolo was getting.

"Now, we have prepared a set of stands for all of you to sit at to watch the Tournament of Power." The platform with their seats lowered behind them and they all walked toward it. Elyon let go of her mother and straightened up. Now that she was standing erect, everyone could get a better look at her outfit. She was wearing a long white strapless dress that went to her ankles. It had a big white bow across her chest and she also wore white slippers to match. Her hair was laying in waves down her back and she had a silver feather pin attached to the right side of her head. Her delicate pointed ears kept her hair back and framed her face in perfection. As she limped to her seat, Piccolo couldn't help but gazing at her from behind. _She looks…gorgeous._

As the Fantasian platform floated off to the opposite side of the arena, the Great Priest spoke up again. "Now, I will explain the rules of the Tournament of Power once more. The time limit will be 100 taks." He gestured toward the pillar in the middle of the arena. "Once the pillar descends all the way into the floor, the tournament will be over. The use of weapons that are not techniques are forbidden, as well as killing your opponent. The goal is to knock them over the side of the fighting stage. Abilities such as flying cannot be used unless you have wings, and you cannot use items to heal yourself. Those are all the rules."

Perion sat back in his chair, "It looks like all of them will have to fight creatively."

Elyon nodded and said in a quiet voice, "I'm just glad that killing is forbidden." She glanced over at Frieza. Her brother, Gaston followed her gaze.

"That doesn't mean there won't be any mortals foolish enough to try." Elyon furrowed her eyebrows at him. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Elyon looked all around at the fighters down below her. She stared down at one of the Pride Troopers in Universe 11. He had grey skin and dark bulging eyes. _He might pose a problem…_ She turned back to Gaston and noticed him looking up into the stands to his right.

"What's wrong?" she said, following his gaze. Then, she noticed someone staring back at them…Beerus. She held her gaze on him for several seconds. He didn't seem angry…he seemed more worried.

"What's his problem?" said Gaston, his gaze turning into a glare. Beerus broke his gaze and looked back down at the fighting stage. Gaston smirked. "Scared probably."

"Wouldn't you be if you were put into this situation?" Gaston put his arms behind his head and leaned back, shaking his head. Perion looked over at his younger brother. He began speaking in Fantasian.

" _Straighten up and at least pretend that you care. You are a Fantasian prince, you know."_ Gaston chuckled and sat up.

The Great Priest hovered over to the Zenos. "It seems like everyone is ready. Shall we begin the Tournament of Power?"

"Yes, yes. Hurry, hurry!" they said in delight. The Great Priest looked down at the fighters.

"Now, fighters…prepare yourselves!" Elyon looked down at the group from Universe 7 and she closed her eyes.

" _Good luck…I wish you all well."_ The Great Priest raised his arm up.

"Let the Tournament of Power begin!" He lowered his arm and chaos erupted.

 _ **Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter! I thought it would be nice for me to add a little family tree at the end of this chapter, so you can get all the people mentioned in the chapter, figured out.**_

 _ **~Perion and Gaston: Elyon's brothers (remember that Perion is the oldest and Gaston is the youngest and they are the Triplets)**_

 _ **~Ilmare: The Triplets' mother (remember, she is a Maia) Also, Elyon's father is no longer around (he essentially died, but that will be explained later)**_

 _ **~Grandin: (The Triplets' grandfather and the High Lord of the Fantasian Court) We will meet his wife, Celebrian, much later on.**_

 _ **~Lindon: The Triplets' uncle (which means he is also the former King's brother and one of Grandin's sons)**_

 _ **~Vilmir: The Triplets' cousin (his father is the third son of Grandin, but he is gone as well as his mother)**_

 _ **~Eldorian and Ellahir: Twin brothers and two lords of the Fantasian Court (the family that these two come from are very close to the Royal Family)**_

 _ **Now, you are probably wondering…what happened to Elyon's 'betrothed?' Well, don't worry, Haldorin is no longer in the picture either, but that will be explained at the same time when Elyon's father's 'death' is explained. Hopefully, you all got this information straightened out! Once again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one. Thanks for reading ~goldenbelle75**_


	5. One Universe and One Man Down

_**Hello everyone! I hope all of you enjoyed this holiday season and the new year is almost upon us! I hope everyone has a great beginning to 2018. I was finally able to get around to writing a little bit more, so I hope you enjoy chapter 5!**_

 **Chapter 5: One Universe…and One Man Down**

Just as the Great Priest's arm lowered to signal the beginning of the tournament, fighters ran from every direction to attack one another. Blasts, beams, kicks and punches were being flown all around, so much that the Zenos were amazed by the spectacle. Elyon glanced over at Piccolo and the others from Universe 7 and saw that they were still altogether. But no sooner had the fighting started, that Goku, Vegeta, 17, 18, and Frieza split up from the group and began their own matches.

 _"I suppose the teamwork plan didn't work out for them,"_ said Perion.

 _"It looks that way,"_ agreed Elyon. _"But in the same way, I'm not surprised. Goku and Vegeta are Saiyans…they won't fight using numbers. They would much rather hold their own alone."_

 _"That strategy is not going to work for long…eventually, they are going to have to work together, especially near the end,"_ said Gaston. As they looked down into the ring, they noticed one of the fighters from Universe 3 cause a bit of a ruckus. This robot creature, Narirama, began spinning and spinning, knocking fighters away that was in its path. However, Hit came in and crushed one of its arms and Basil crushed the other one. The Universe 3 gods were shocked that their 'perfect' survival tactic from Narirama failed.

Soon, Basil moved on to another opponent, a fighter from Universe 10 called Lilibeu. She was one of the fighters that had wings, so she was flying around her opponent trying to hit him at super-fast speed. When Basil kept dodging her attacks, she became frustrated.

"Ugh, stay still, you dog!" she shouted. Basil growled and jumped up into the air. He fired a large red blast from his legs and it hit Lilibeu. Then, he fired a second one that completely knocked her back, so far back that she fell out of the ring! Her screams rang out all around the arena.

Within a matter of seconds, Lilibeu re-appeared, but she was in the stands with her Universe 10 gods. Perion nodded in his head. "Ah, I understand. When you fall from the arena, you re-appear back in the stands with your own universe."

"And look at what the Zenos have," said Gaston. They looked across from them and noticed both Zenos were holding flat devices in their hands.

"They call them godPads," said Elyon. "Apparently, as each opponent falls off, they go to the correct universe on the device and tap on their picture to make it go black."

"I wonder what will happen when all of the pictures in that universe go black?" wondered Gaston.

" _Elimination, of course,"_ stated Lord Grandin.

" _Would they do that here and now, at the Tournament, or wouldn't they wait until time is up?_ " asked Vilmir.

" _I don't doubt that the Zenos will do it as it comes along. It will be the best motivating factor for the fighters that are left to fight harder."_

" _That makes sense,"_ said Perion. Elyon turned her attention back to Universe 7. She noticed that Goku, Vegeta, 18, 17, and Frieza were having their own individual matches. However, the remaining Universe 7 fighters were being surrounded by another group of fighters. What was hard for Elyon was the fact that she couldn't root for her friends. It would be too dangerous. Except for the Universe 6 gods, the present Zeno, and the Great Priest, everyone else didn't know that she lived on Earth for several years. If she tried to show favoritism toward Universe 7, the other gods might think she or her family is influencing the flow of the tournament, so that it works out for Universe 7. For now, she had to keep her composure, despite anything bad that might happen.

Just as the fighters came after Piccolo and the others, they jumped into the air and fired their own attacks at their opponents. _That's it…guard each other's backs, Piccolo._ She felt someone jab at her arm with an elbow. "What is it, Gaston?" she asked, looking over at her brother.

" _Looks like one of your friends let his guard down,"_ said Gaston, smirking. She looked in the direction Gaston was motioning and saw that Goku was in a head-lock from one of the Universe 4 fighters. She shook her head slowly.

" _He…does that a lot,"_ said Elyon, embarrassed.

" _Perhaps, he needs training from us…if he survives."_

Elyon rolled her eyes. " _Must you keep saying that…they are going to survive."_

" _He's the one that caused all this to happen in the first place…and he is going to go out so soon? You would think that he would be a little more prepared and NOT let his guard down so easily."_ Elyon didn't respond. She knew Gaston was picking at her and trying to get her upset.

" _Let's wait and see what happens,"_ said Perion. They watched as Nink dragged Goku with him to the edge of the ring. It appeared that he was going to bring Goku down with him. However, Goku powered up to Super Saiyan Blue and blasted Nink out of bounds. Goku almost fell out of the ring himself, but he grabbed the edge just in time and jumped back up into the ring. " _See?"_ said Perion. Gaston just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his seat. Elyon just shook her head. _Gaston…once a little brother, always a little brother._

Back in the arena, Goku was surrounded by five fighters from Universe 9, three of them being the Trio de Dangers. As Basil, Lavender, and Bergamo attacked Goku, Perion said, " _They are the Trio de Dangers. Buu, Gohan, and Goku fought against them during the Zen Exhibition Match."_ Elyon smiled at her older brother. " _I believe they are getting their revenge after Universe 7 defeated them in the Exhibition Match."_

Vilmir, who was sitting behind the Triplets, leaned over and commented, " _I suppose we could call you three the 'Trio de Dangers' of Fantasia."_ Perion, Elyon, and Gaston stared wide-eyed at their cousin.

" _You cannot be serious,"_ said Perion, aghast.

" _It's such a ridiculous name!"_ said Elyon.

" _Actually, I like it,"_ said Gaston, relaxing back in his chair again. Perion and Elyon glared at him and he chuckled slightly. " _I'm only joking."_ Elyon turned back to the arena. She saw one of the fighters, Lavender, blowing some purple smoke onto his hands.

 _Poison,_ she thought. Lavender went after Goku, punching him so that the poison could take effect. But since Goku had already seen this move during the Exhibition Match, he was able to counteract it with a barrier.

"I'll take care of this, brother!" said Bergamo as he began attacking Goku next. With the barrier as a little protection, Goku was able to land a few hits on his opponent, but soon, Basil, Lavender, and Bergamo were surrounding Goku and running around him at top speed, not allowing him to escape.

"Do you really think you can break through our brotherly bond?" said Basil.

"We have come up with some fantastic combinations that we use against our enemies when one of us can't face him alone," put in Lavender. Perion watched the scene before him with much thought.

" _In a way, I really feel for these three,"_ he said.

" _What do you mean?"_ said Gaston.

" _These three have a very powerful bond as brothers, just like we have a very strong bond as siblings."_ He moved his hand slightly so that the light could cast a glare against his ring. Elyon and Gaston looked down at the rings on their hands. " _From the outside, the Trio de Dangers are just another obstacle for Universe 7 to overcome, but when you look deeper, Basil, Lavender, and Bergamo are just another group of survivors, trying to keep themselves from being erased. When you think about it, these 80 fighters have been pitted together as enemies, each one fighting to get to the top and survive. But…if this didn't happen, how many of them would hate each other?"_

Elyon thought about what her brother said and let all of that information sink in. " _All of these fighters are victims to a higher beings' play."_ Perion nodded. She looked toward her family sitting around her and they all seemed to be listening to Perion's little speech. Their faces were serious, even her mothers'.

" _So, when the time comes, we mustn't be joyful for the erasure of a universe, but instead…mourn the loss of billions of mortals' lives that never had a chance to escape it."_ Elyon's face became downcast. Her brother was right. She shouldn't just focus on Universe 7's victory, but also think about the others out there that didn't stand a chance. While the Fantasians were talking amongst themselves, Vegeta had entered the fray against the Trio de Dangers. Then, the other warriors from Universe 9 came to face the two Saiyans, executing the plan of the Supreme Kai of Universe 9.

Vegeta faced off against Lavender and his poison, while Goku faced off against Chappil, the Iron Skin Battler. He hit and punched Chappil in the chest several times, but it didn't faze the dragon-like creature. " _I quite like that Chappil guy…he would make a good soldier in our army,"_ said Gaston.

Vegeta was having some problem against Lavender and his cat-like ally. Even though he had a barrier open, he couldn't win against them by defense alone. _I need to break their coordination somehow,_ he thought. Suddenly, shards of ice flew towards him and froze his arm. It was another warrior from Universe 9, Hyssop and his Freezing Attacks! Roh, the Supreme Kai from Universe 9 was having a ball at yelling insults at Vegeta and Goku.

"Take care of these two right now, and Universe 7 will fall easily!" he shouted. Lavender and his counterpart went after Vegeta again, but this time, he had an opportunity to dodge and she hit Lavender instead.

"Now, it's our turn!" shouted Goku. He launched a huge blast, knocking Chappil and another warrior out of the arena. Vegeta also began launching offensive attacks against his opponent, using his icy fist.

" _They tried to finish the fight too fast with that ice blast against Vegeta, and their coordination was broken,"_ commented Elyon as she watched them. Vegeta then turned the tables against Hyssop and his ally, Oregano. Oregano tried to use a sticky web attack to render Vegeta helpless, but he broke through and launched his own powerful blast to send them over the edge.

In another part of the arena, #18 knocked off a warrior from Universe 9 that looked like a bunny and Frieza was having fun torturing another fighter from Universe 9. The creature was so scared of the Emperor that he leapt from the arena just to get away from him! Now all that was left of Universe 9 were the Trio de Dangers. " _It looks like that fighter enjoys torturing his opponents for fun,"_ said Eldorian. " _Do you know him, my lady?"_

" _Yes, I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting him once,"_ said Elyon, closing her eyes and shaking her head. The Trio de Dangers were coming down on Vegeta and Goku, fighting with everything they had, but the two Saiyans were fighting back harder. Soon, the three brothers were right on the edge of the arena.

"Okay, brothers, let's finish this fight!" yelled Bergamo. They powered up to three colors, blue, yellow, and red. "Triangle Danger Beam!" they yelled as they launched the three blasts. However, Vegeta and Goku were ready.

"Final…" said Vegeta, powering up a Final Flash attack.

"Kame…hame…ha!" yelled Goku as he powered up and launched his special attack alongside Vegeta's. The beams hit each other and pushed each other back. But, Goku and Vegeta's combination was much stronger and it knocked the Trio de Dangers all the way out of the ring.

"T-ten warriors have fallen…what will happen to Universe 9?!" said Sidra, the God of Destruction from Universe 9. He looked up at the thrones of the Zenos with fear in his eyes. As each warrior had fallen from the ring, the Omni-kings would tap on the picture of the warrior and its picture would go black. Now that all ten warriors had been defeated, the entire board was black.

"Wow, they are all black. Universe 9 is gone!" said the present Zeno.

"Yes, they are all gone!" replied the future Zeno. Both of them laughed mischievously. Elyon and the other Fantasians watched the Great Priest and the Zenos with serious looks on their faces, waiting to see what would happen.

"All the fighters from Universe 9 have dropped out. Therefore, Universe 9 will be erased!" said the Great Priest in a commanding voice.

From the stands, Elyon could hear Roh screaming up at the Zenos. She turned just in time to see each person in the Universe 9 stands faze out instantly. All that remained was the angel from that universe. He smirked slightly and shrugged his shoulders. _They are gone…completely erased from existence,_ she thought. She glanced over at her mother. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were in her lap. She seemed to be muttering something in an ancient language. _She must be saying a prayer._ The arena down below was eerily quiet…everyone was looking up at the Zenos and the Great Priest.

Elyon closed her eyes and concentrated. She needed to communicate with Piccolo. _Piccolo, Piccolo, can you hear me?_ Piccolo turned his head toward the platform where the Fantasians were sitting.

 _Yes, I can hear you,_ he responded.

 _Good. Are you alright?_

 _Yes, I'm fine. What about you?_

 _I…I think so._ Piccolo closed his eyes and bowed his head. _I never got the chance to wish you good luck, so…good luck._ Piccolo smirked.

 _Thanks…I'm going to need it._

 _You think too little of yourself. You are stronger than you think, Piccolo._

 _Well, it is good to hear your reassurance again. Do you have any other words of advice to give me before this fighting starts again?_

 _No words of advice…just comfort. During our year apart…I never forgot about you. I thought about you every day and I kept hoping I would see you again. I'm so sorry that I had to see you again in these circumstances._

Piccolo sighed. _All I'm wanting to do is survive this tournament…and hopefully, once it's done and over with…we can pick up where we left off…if that's possible?_ He smirked again.

Elyon smiled slightly. _Why don't we pick up where we take our relationship to the next level?_ Piccolo's eyes fluttered open, trying to hold back a blush.

 _The next level?_ Elyon didn't speak up again, but it left Piccolo with a brand-new goal. He was going to do his absolute best to survive in this tournament…not only did he want he and his friends to overcome this, but he also wanted a chance to hold Elyon in his arms again. Gohan looked over at his mentor.

"Are you okay, Piccolo?" Piccolo straightened up and his face became very serious again.

"Yes, Gohan, I'm fine." Meanwhile, up in the Fantasian stands, Perion reacted to what had just happened.

"I…can't believe…they erased Universe 9…just like that."

Grandin closed his eyes and sighed. "If the Omni-King said he would erase the universes that lose, then he will allow it to come to pass." Down in the arena, some of the fighters began to get antsy and were moving in on their next opponents. Vegeta tied up Botamo's arms and was about to throw him out of the ring, when Magetta stepped in and saved Botamo at the last minute. Piccolo and the others began facing a bird-like opponent from Universe 10, who ended up getting knocked out by Master Roshi's Kamehameha wave.

A little farther off, #18 was facing off against Shosa, a wolf-like creature from Universe 4. It seemed 18 had the upper hand until she thought her attacks went a little too far and ended up killing him. However, Shosa's special ability was playing dead and he fired many blasts towards 18, knocking her over the boundary of the arena. But, Krillin saved her just before she could be considered 'disqualified.'

"You usually aren't this careless, 18" said Krillin with a smile.

"Don't criticize me!" she said, irritatingly. Gaston looked over at his sister.

" _So, are they together?"_

" _Yes, they are husband and wife."_ Gaston looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

" _I suppose you are right about one thing, Elyon. The most unlikely of people can fall in love with each other."_

" _Are you saying that because 18 is tall and beautiful that she can't fall in love with someone short and bald like Krillin?"_

" _Basically, yes."_ Elyon rolled her eyes and sighed. _He has no other worldly experience._ Once 18 was on her feet again, she and Krillin teamed up to take down Shosa. They began by firing an energy blast and hitting it back and forth to each other. As it hit their hands, the blast became bigger, and therefore stronger. When the blast hit Shosa, he instantly fell out of the ring.

" _That was quite an interesting tactic,"_ said Perion thoughtfully. _"And, I might add, they do make a cute couple."_ He smiled as he saw them high-five each other. The celebration didn't last long, though. Another opponent came into the fray and kicked Krillin down. It was a fox-like creature from Universe 4. Krillin tried to fight back by releasing a Solar Flare x 100 attack, but it didn't the creature at all.

" _It appears that fighter cannot see, or else he would be affected by that light,"_ said Grandin. He closed his eyes. _"I know a few of our people that were born blind and have become quite deadly fighters."_

" _Paladin's father,"_ commented Elyon in a quiet voice. Grandin opened his eyes and nodded to his granddaughter.

" _But, unlike Paladin's father who used hearing to track his opponents, this fighter uses scent."_ As 18 was trying to think of a way to beat Majora, Krillin told her he had the perfect plan. When Krillin and Majora began fighting and put some distance between one another, Krillin threw his shoe at Majora's nose. The whole area around the fox was filled with a terrible odor and he couldn't sense Krillin anywhere. While Majora was vulnerable to the smell, Krillin fired a Kamehameha blast, knocking him out.

" _Well…knocking the first opponent out was entertaining, but this second one, not so much,"_ said Gaston. _"There was a lot less…grace to it."_

" _As long as they were getting knocked out, right?"_ said Elyon.

" _I guess,"_ said her little brother, shrugging his shoulders. Suddenly, as Krillin was celebrating knocking out another opponent, Frost came up behind him and knocked him out of the ring with one swift hit with his tail.

" _He let his guard down,"_ said Perion. _"It's too bad."_ Elyon nodded as she looked over at Krillin in the Universe 7 stands. Shin and Beerus didn't look very happy, but nobody was yelling at him. She turned back to the arena. _Pick up the slack, guys. You already have one man down._

 _ **It looks like this Tournament of Power is just getting started! I hope you guys liked the added commentary from Elyon and her family. I wanted to add some personality and depth to these characters and I will continue to do this throughout the entire Tournament. Also, I mentioned another character in the chapter named Paladin. I have some wonderful ideas to bring this character into the story, but not until the Tournament is over, probably. I'll just say…he is a lot different than the other Fantasians. I might also introduce his father and mother too later, but I'm not sure yet. Sorry to keep rambling, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Have a very Happy New Year! ~goldenbelle75**_


End file.
